Thread by @Haleaziz

NEW: ICE officials have started to implement a policy that allows officers to arrest and rapidly deport undocumented immigrants who have been in the US for less than two years, according to internal emails and documents obtained by BuzzFeed News.

buzzfeednews.com/article/hameda…

The shift could allow the Trump administration to increase deportations while circumventing a court system that is severely backed up and short on resources, but advocates for immigrants have said it would destroy their due-process rights.

We got the internal emails and guidance memos on this policy, just issued late last week.

What we found:

ICE officers cannot revisit cases of immigrants who are already in deportation proceedings & cannot quickly deport people who can prove they were in the US before July 23.

Officers can decide not to use expedited removal in cases in which immigrants have “mental competency” issues, the immigrant is the sole caregiver of a US citizen child, or if they are a crime victim or witness to a crime, among other exceptions.

ICE attorneys will initially review all cases in which deportation officers aim to use the new policy before immigrants are quickly removed from the country.

The question advocates/experts have been asking since this policy was first considered has been: how is it going to be deployed?

Well, ICE's acting director tips off just how.

The undocumented immigrant must AFFIRMATIVELY prove they have been in the US for 2 yrs. The immigrants can use bankbooks, leases, school records, employment records, or other materials to prove their presence in the country, according to the memo.

The election in November will ultimately determine whether ICE will use this long-term. VP Biden will likely not allow this policy to continue.